David A. Cacchione received a Ph.D. in oceanography (jointly) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. At the time (1970), he was serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He continued to work for the Navy until 1975, becoming director of the Boston branch of the Office of Naval Research. Cacchione then switched coasts and took up a position as a research oceanographer for the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., where he is currently a Senior Scientist Emeritus. Since retiring from government service in 1998, Cacchione has remained busy, conducting research and consulting on problems affecting the marine realm through a company he founded: CME (Coastal & Marine Environments).